Old Stone Endures as Fire Erupts

Durable Materials Save 1874 Edifice

By Arianne Aryanpur (Contact)

Saturday, May 31, 2008

The Old Stone School, a 134-year-old landmark that stands just outside the eastern limits of Hillsboro on Route 9, escaped demolition in the 1970s when town residents protested a plan to tear it down and were allowed to convert it into a community center.

Last week, the former school survived another close call — a kitchen fire that caused an estimated $70,000 in damage.

The building’s name explains why it did not succumb to the flames, fire officials said: The durability of old stone saved the day.

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Hillsboro Building Damaged

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The building, originally a school house, is damaged on the side. (Susan Biddle)

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The building sustained burn damage on right side, including six 1870s era windows with hand-carved wooden frames. (Susan Biddle)

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The fire started after this burner and pan caught fire. (Susan Biddle)

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The fire started because of a cooking accident in the kitchen. Here's the kitchen and refrigerator. (Susan Biddle)

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New chairs were burned, and here, the melted plastic seats are hardened. (Susan Biddle)

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The non-profit Hillsboro Community Association is seeking donations to help with rebuilding. Amie Ware, wife of Mark Ware, president of the association, surveys the damage. She and her husband are volunteers with HCA. (Susan Biddle)

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The non-profit Hillsboro Community Association is seeking donations to help with rebuilding. Mark Ware, president of the association, removes a damaged painting from the soot-covered walls. (Susan Biddle)

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In the room usually used for meetings, the plaster walls are covered with soot and the curtains are discolored, nearly melted from the heat. (Susan Biddle)

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“It’s an old building, with a heavy-timbered type of construction, so the fire held to the building and didn’t spread as quickly as it would have with a newer building,” said Loudoun County Chief Fire Marshall W. Keith Brower Jr.

The blaze, which started shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, began when a group renting the center left the stove unattended, officials said. Five fire crews from Loudoun, one from Jefferson County, W.Va., and one from Frederick, Md., responded. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

Although firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the kitchen, the entire building suffered varying degrees of smoke and heat damage. The old first-grade classroom, which hosts the Hillsboro Town Council’s monthly meetings, suffered the most damage after the kitchen, said Mark Ware, a council member and president of the Hillsboro Community Association.

Among the pieces of furniture destroyed were tables and a 1920s-era piano, Ware said. Six of the center’s windows, built in the 1870s and located on the south and southeast side of the structure, also were lost.

Most of the damage will be covered by insurance, although it will be difficult for the insurance company to replace the lost windows, Ware said.

“To find replacement period glass presents a bit of a challenge,” he said.

The building, whose oldest section dates from 1874, was a school for nearly 100 years. Originally named Locust Grove Academy, it enrolled students in first through seventh grade until 1966, when Hillsboro Elementary School opened next door.

When county officials made plans to demolish the structure in the mid-1970s, a group of residents — many of whom had attended the school or taught there — protested. The county eventually agreed to let residents form the Hillsboro Community Association, which would maintain the building and rent it out for community events.

For the past 30 years, the center has served as a community hub, hosting Town Council meetings, plays, concerts, craft fairs, weddings, funeral receptions and the town’s Fourth of July celebration.

Ware said that several people have asked about contributing money to help with the restoration and that donation forms can be downloaded from the association’s Web site, www.hillsborova.org. The association has long relied on private donations to help pay for the building’s maintenance and renovation.

The building will be closed until the association determines the extent of the damage. After that, officials will begin the cleanup process and decide which rooms are usable.

Ware said no community events have been scheduled at the center for the next few weeks.

Alternative arrangements will be made for the Town Council’s meetings.

“We’ll probably have to hold them in someone’s house,” Ware said.

Tagged: Fire, Hillsboro

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